The quality of a product goes far beyond its actual benefits. At BSH, it is very important to us that quality is a significant criterion in our work, from development to disposal – throughout the entire product life cycle.
However, quality doesn’t just play a role in the product life cycle. In the age of connected appliances, increasing volumes of data are being produced that simplify interactions or enable in the first place. The more extensive and more sensitive this data is, the more important it is to handle it conscientiously.
All BSH factories are certified according to the international ISO 9001 standard for quality management systems.
Connected home appliances offer new opportunities for our consumers worldwide. Operating washing machines from the smart phone while on the move, or accessing individual energy-saving tips are features that can enrich our daily lives. Manufacturers rely on corresponding customer data for these new services. That’s why the success of connected home appliances depends – in addition to convincing technologies – to a large extent on handling this data responsibly. BSH works continuously, in exchange with its consumers, on developing user-friendly, data privacy-compliant and secure solutions.
With regard to the household, our consumers primarily want everyday life to be made easier. For example, an oven that knows your culinary preferences and has appropriate recipes at the ready. And when it comes to saving electricity, home appliances and smartphones will offer support in the future thanks to clever tips. For consumers to be able to benefit from these additional services, they need to be willing to provide service providers with the relevant data. In an age of big data and data abuse scandals, however, there are naturally misgivings, which we must be aware of and address.
Nothing is more private than your own home. That’s why the Home Connect app was developed with data security experts, tested by hackers and approved by TÜV-TRUST-IT. It therefore meets the strictest security requirements. Appliance-specific information is exchanged and personal data transmitted in encrypted form. BSH naturally only collects consumer data that creates real added value for the personal benefit of consumers, and ensures that only data that is absolutely necessary is collected.
Ensuring that our consumers are not only satisfied but also enthused by our products is at the heart of everything we do. We want the perceived quality of our products and solutions to win our consumers over. The quality policy provides a framework for BSH’s quality management system and sets out the company’s quality objectives. All employees have a role to play in ensuring that the BSH quality management system is applied effectively; under their remit, every employee bears joint responsibility for helping to achieve the company objectives and protect BSH against any potential loss of confidence in the company, damage to its public image and financial losses as a result of inadequate quality.
1. Consumer focus.
Our objective is to fulfill consumer expectations and, where possible, exceed them.
Perceived quality is a crucial factor for us. It is the consumer who decides whether their quality criteria have been fulfilled. We will therefore always do whatever is necessary in order to prevent the consumer from encountering any defect.
2. Continual improvement.
The objective of our quality management system is to ensure that our products, solutions and processes are continually improved. This applies to all BSH divisions.
3. Our commitment.
It is the duty of all employees – from managerial staff to apprentices – to continually strive to achieve high-quality products and services and to improve on this quality.
4. Compliance and quality.
Our BSH policies, regulations and processes are based on statutory requirements, international standards, consumer requirements, and our expertise and experience. Knowledge of these coupled with strict compliance is what underpins our quality standards.
5. Measurability and transparency.
The choice of appropriate quality criteria and key performance indicators (KPIs) for products, solutions and processes, along with focused quality reporting form the basis for effective quality control loops at BSH.
6. Quality from the outset.
There is a focus on quality in products and processes from the very start. It is better to take measures to prevent errors and defects in the first place than to have to fix them at a later date. We therefore make sure that we consistently employ preventative quality assurance methods and tools.
7. Identifying quality risks early.
We use all the data and information sources at our disposal to identify potential quality risks as early as possible, assess these risks and bring about lasting improvements as a result of these findings.
8. Solving problems definitively – increasing efficiency.
Systematic problem solving can help us learn from mistakes and put us in a position to eliminate the root causes of the error or defect promptly and definitively. These underlying causes may be technical or may originate in the process. We apply the lessons we have learned to similar use cases to make BSH more efficient.
9. The role of our suppliers.
Our suppliers play a key role in the quality of our products and solutions.
We ensure that our contractual partners adhere to the same quality standards as we do.
Our responsibility: To act in an ecologically and socially sound manner along the entire value chain. In so doing, our goal is to ensure that our suppliers give a high priority to maintaining minimum standards in terms of working conditions, human rights, occupational safety and environmental protection. These principles for dealing with our business partners are clearly and transparently anchored in the BSH Supplier’s Code of Conduct.
Our suppliers therefore have to provide proof of a successfully completed social audit, following external certification. A specialized team in the Global Supply Chain monitors compliance with these framework requirements and is also responsible for annual auditing. An inadequate or failed audit can therefore lead to a renewed consultation or even to the termination of a business relationship.
